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6d ago

CDC Finalizes Individual COVID-19 Guidance, Recommends Separate Chickenpox Shot for Children Under 4

The approval clears state and VFC ordering after delays that limited access for low-income children.

The main campus of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., August 27, 2025. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer/File Photo
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - MARCH 01: A tray of the MMR vaccine at a vaccine clinic put on by Lubbock Public Health Department on March 1, 2025 in Lubbock, Texas. Cases of Measles are on the rise in West Texas as over 150 confirmed case have been seen with one confirmed death.(Photo by Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump listens as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Committee member Dr. Martin Kulldorf, speaks during a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at the CDC on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025, in Chamblee, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Overview

  • The agency updated adult and child immunization schedules to make COVID-19 vaccination a shared clinical decision for everyone 6 months and older, maintaining coverage but leaving prescription requirements for some settings unresolved.
  • For ages 12–36 months, varicella is now recommended as a standalone shot due to a small increase in febrile seizures with the combined MMRV product when used as the first dose; the combo remains acceptable for the second dose at ages 4–6.
  • Acting director Jim O’Neill signed off on Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendations and said “Informed consent is back,” following the panel’s overhaul earlier this year by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
  • States can now order updated COVID-19 doses through the Vaccines for Children program, after a signing delay that left many VFC‑eligible children without access to this season’s shots.
  • Major medical groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Infectious Diseases Society of America continue to advise vaccination for children, pregnant people and high‑risk adults, while reporting indicates some private plans may no longer be required to cover the MMRV product even as many insurers plan to cover COVID and flu vaccines through 2026.